CALGARY -- City council unanimously passed an anti-racism motion Monday to address systemic racism and discrimination in Calgary.
The motion, put forward by Coun. George Chahal, included six calls to action, including establishing an anti-racism committee, mandaory anti-racism training for council, its staff and administration leadership team, reevaluating city policies and procedures putting an emphasis on diversity and inclusion, holding public consultation to address systemic racism and formally requesting the Calgary Police Commision to submit anti-racism work currently underway and any future plans involving the community and policing in a diverse city.
All 14 councillors and the mayor were on hand for the vote.
"Listening and learning are important first steps in combatting institutional racism," said Chahal, in a release. "The protests have shown that we have much to learn. However, we must also take concrete and immediate steps to ensure that unconscious bias and systemic racism are addressed internally at City Hall."
"Our leadership, including council and administration, must commit to ensuring that all outcomes are equitable and that structural inequalities are identified and eliminated."
